Smiling Comes Naturally
by Leina
Summary: Tai needs someone to talk to about his "relationship" with Matt. Who better to talk to then his understanding little sister? [One-shot, light shounen-ai, cute brother-sister chat]


_Hey guys! Holy crap, can you believe that I'm actually submitting something in the digimon section? (sweatdrops) Well of course you can... you have no idea who I am ;; Well, I'm Leina! I actually used to be an avid digimon het writer when I first started, but I haven't submitted to this section since 2001 P_

_Anyway, this is just a ficlet I whipped up during exams when I was horribly stressed XD Light shounen-ai... kind of ) Happy reading!_

_Disclaimer: Oh gawd... this is new (raises eyebrow) I do not own Digimon! XD_

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Smiling Comes Naturally

Tai and Kari sat beside each other quietly. Or, at least, as quiet as it could get considering that Kari kept making little excited squees of delight.

"Stop keeping me in suspense Tai," she nagged light-heartedly. "Tell me what's going on between you and Matt." _He looks so hesitant_, Kari noted, trying not to frown. _Why is he acting so hesitant? He's usually so eager to tell me about what's going on between them!_

"Well...there's not exactly much to tell," he finally began. "There isn't anything going on between us."

_Say what?_ The light-haired girl furrowed her eyebrows, slightly confused. "What is that suppose to mean?"

Tai grinned, letting out a poised breath of air. That was very odd. "It means exactly what it sounds like. There's nothing going on between us. And there won't be anything happening in the future either."

Kari stared at him, not knowing how to respond to his formal answer. There had to be more to this, right? She could have sworn that just a few days ago, the two were having some kind of break through!

"Remember that I told you I asked him a few days ago?" he went on. "That I wanted to know if I actually had a chance with him, and I gave him a week to come up with an answer?" She nodded, remembering that conversation perfectly. "Well, he gave the answer early. And it's a simple no."

She stared at him as if he had just declared that he was never going to play soccer again. _This can't be right though! _she thought fervently. She waited, half expecting him to start laughing about how shocked she looked at that moment, but he never did. She frowned, strongly wishing that thought.

"Oh..." she finally managed to say.

There was a stretched hush between the two teenagers. Again, Kari didn't know what to say. What could she say? Don't worry about it Tai! I'm sure Matt will eventually come around! There there Tai! There's plenty of fish in the sea! For the first time in a long time, she couldn't come up with any words of comfort.

"Hey Kari."

She averted her gaze towards him, relieved that the darker brunette had broken the silence first. "What is it?"

"Do you think...that I'm attractive?" he asked slowly.

She blinked. That was kind of random. And what kind of a question was that? "Wha?! Why are you asking me that? You know perfectly well that I think you're gorgeous, and I'm not saying that just because you're my brother either. Anybody who has eyes could see that."

He allowed a small grin to cross his lips. "Yeah...maybe, I guess."

Kari heaved a loud sigh, leaning against Tai's shoulder. "Tai...are you hurt?"

He chuckled at the question. Kari couldn't tell whether it held remorse, anger or bitterness. Perhaps a mix of all three or maybe none at all...

"Not exactly," he answered, looking down at her. "Maybe just my pride. Anyway, I had a feeling things would turn out this way. Matt's too damn straight to get involved with a guy. I've always known that."

"Is that what you think?" she asked cautiously but firmly, turning to face him properly. "I really don't think you're just another guy to him though. What about all the stuff you guys do together? All of it can't be for...for..."

"For nothing?" he intervened, finishing her sentence. He warmly gave her that calm smile of his; it worried Kari to pieces. _Are you really okay with all this Tai? _"Of course it can. You know Matt. He's the prince of detaching himself from his emotions. Plus, I doubt there were any emotions for me in the first place."

"Of course there were!" she shouted defensively, completely convinced that Matt was just in denial. "He does care about you!"

Tai carefully pushed himself off the couch and headed to the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink, Kari? I'm kind of thirsty."

The younger girl pouted in slight annoyance, following her older sibling into the kitchen. "You're avoiding the situation!" The brunette opened the fridge and grabbed two cans of pop—mountain dew for himself and orange crush for Kari. "Are you even listening to me? I really think you should try talking to Matt again and—"

"And what?!" he suddenly cut her off, his voice sounding more forceful.

She stared at him in surprise. Now that slight outburst she didn't expect. Then again, at the same time, she was actually more relieved to hear him yell rather than being around his unfamiliar calm air. Tai handed Kari her drink before opening his own and taking a long sip, as if trying to cool down.

"Kari," he started again, gently this time, "I told you all this because you've been there for me through everything that's happened. No matter how annoying I got, you were always listening. And for that, I'm thankful. But Kari, right now...I don't need any advice."

"But Ta—"

"I don't know why you're pushing at something that doesn't even exist," he quickly continued. "It's not like I can talk to Matt tomorrow and he'll suddenly have a change of heart. Not now. Not next week. Not ever. I probably sound like I'm turning this into a melodrama, but you get the point now, right? Matt and I will never ever hook up." He paused, as if giving himself a moment to accept his words. "So...sis...just stop pushing it...okay?"

The softness of his voice in that tiny request was enough to startle Kari, and suddenly, she had her brother in a tight embrace. It was a sister reflex.

"Tai..." she cooed softly into his shoulder, "it's just...you do like him, don't you?" she asked quietly, slowly pulling away. As her question processed in her mind, she mentally scolded herself for wording it incorrectly. That's not what she meant, and she knew how he'd answer.

Tai shook his head resolutely, that composed demeanour totally washing over him. "No, I don't," he answered truthfully. "Not yet at least. I told you before. I only started this pointless commotion because I thought that I could fall for him. It doesn't mean that I'm losing my mind over him now. Don't worry so much about it. Besides, knowing what he's told me now...I'll do everything I can to keep anything from progressing."

"But Tai..." She let her unfinished sentence linger. She didn't know how to go on. She knew exactly what he was denying. No, he wasn't denying that he "liked" Matt. He said it himself; Tai wasn't exactly at that point yet. It was...something else.

_You were already falling for him a little, weren't you?_ she asked him in her mind. _You didn't quite like him yet, but you noticed that you felt a little something for him that you couldn't exactly explain. That's why you wanted to know if you had a chance with him. You wanted to make sure that you could fall for him freely...and safely._

She hid the sombre smile that threatened to show, and instead, lowered her head, letting her soft bangs fall in front of her face. _And now...now you're just gonna stop yourself from falling any further, huh? You're hoping that maybe, just maybe, if you tried hard enough, you'll climb back up the small distance you had already lost to him._

Her brown eyes saddened at the truth in her thoughts. She knew Tai too well, and she couldn't help but wonder if Matt had any idea. They were best friends, weren't they? Then again, when it came to this kind of thing...everything could get so confusing.

She watched Tai lazily plop back onto the couch before waving at her to come join him. She let a slight grin sweep over her face, noticing that Tai's supposed calm manner was gone, and he was wearing a cheeky grin now.

_Okay Tai. I guess I can't really stop you from doing this,_ she concluded, as she sauntered over to join him. _It's not as easy as you think though...you of all people should know that._ She casually sat down and rested her head against his shoulder, like she had done earlier. _I'll be here though if you need me._

Owari?

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So? How was that? (laughs) I can actually leave it at a one-shot, but I'm sure that it can be continued too... who knows ) I want to write more, but I need some inspiration... and reviews XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I haven't written digimon in so long; so hopefully it was okay... )


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